Single Beams/Cannons and Dual Beams/Cannons share an equal amount of power drain (10 per weapon). Dual Beams/Cannons have a higher dps potential than Single due to it's narrower firing arc. Best suited for ships with a low turn rate.

Dual Beams/Cannons have the same power drain as Single, with increased dps potential, and a narrower firing arc. Best suited for ships with an average turn rate.

Dual Heavy Beams/Cannons have a higher power drain (12-14 per weapon), with the highest dps potential, and the narrowest firing arc. Best suited for ships with a high turn rate.
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The above changes, effectively removes the limitation of only having cannons on Escorts. Since the inception of Star Trek Online, this limitation has gradually been pushed aside. Certain Cruisers already have the ability to use cannons, as do certain Science ships or Carriers.

Cannons will have a higher rate of fire than beams, whereas beam weapons will have higher damage per shot fired.

The changes are aimed at leveling the playing field between various weapon types (and in some cases, adding new weapon types to the game, such as the Dual Heavy Beam Bank, and the Beam Turrets), and allowing the player to choose the flavor for his/her ship as they see fit. (thanks alexindcobra)

Two equally geared ships (setup as beam ship vs cannon ship) should theoretically have the same overall dps potential, with the cannon setup being more burst dps, and the beam setup being more sustained dps.
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Another result of the above, is making ships appear "more canon" while not making them substantially weaker/stronger than others. A Prometheus Class (thou an Escort by STO standards), is more appropriately fitted with beam weaponry, while a Defiant Class (also an Escort) is more appropriate with cannon weaponry. Overall, the two ships should have a similar dps potential if equally geared.

..... However I still believe the weapon restrictions should be more widespread, keep certain weapons on certain ships only, and then alter how the weapons work to make them better tailored to that ship-class....

I used to think that way, but my hopes are that by opening up DHCs to fed cruisers people will figure out why some weapons are limited to some ships, its really all about turning ability... except for some of the slowest KDF ships, but those are still allowed to mount DHCs for the sake of faction flavor.

Besides, for all I know someone might really get a kick out of using a all DHC/turret fed cruiser, who am I to tell them what they can or cannot try? I will say my willingness to throw all restrictions to the wind is in part due to STO being so clearly non canon though, we have to work with what we have.

Y'know, if we could just get the Omega Weapon Amplifier as an ability that we can turn on for 10 seconds with a cooldown of 30 seconds, which is about the same duty cycle that it already (randomly) has...

Who is the DHBB aimed at? Can you imagine any cruiser using a 45 degree weapon effectively? I can see some of the nimbler Sci Vessels using it, but nothing with a cruiser hull, with the possible exception of the Galaxy-X.

Who is the DHBB aimed at? Can you imagine any cruiser using a 45 degree weapon effectively? I can see some of the nimbler Sci Vessels using it, but nothing with a cruiser hull, with the possible exception of the Galaxy-X.

As I noted in my example, certain Escorts may be more suited with beam weaponry as opposed to cannons, such as the Prometheus, or even the Akira Class. In fact, the only known FED ship to use cannons, is the Defiant, and even then, it has a mixture of beams and cannons. "Turrets" are unique to STO, and not even remotely canon to Trek.

couldnt agree more. i by myself am flying a defiant fleet version with cannons everywhere. i tried other ships like the excelsior (love this one) but it just makes no sense.. i always switched back to escorts because with beams, i was so slow in doing damage. doesnt make much fun. i would love to play one of the big ships but they are a backdraw compared to my defiant in almost any way. even if they have double the shield and can heal themself, it makes no fun. so there are 2 situations:

1. the other beam ship is a healer and the only thing he can do is heal himself and i cannot destroy him

or

2. the other beam ship is not a healer, has some attacks that may scratch my shield a bit but without support of other ships, he wont ever destroy me. most likely i will destroy him.

there is no situation, where one of those big ships would harm me seriously (except when i have a bad day and my captain skills are somewhere else but not on the bridge). there are of course some exceptions here and there but the biggest amount of players with beam ships have no chance.

Quote:

Originally Posted by meurik

As I noted in my example, certain Escorts may be more suited with beam weaponry as opposed to cannons, such as the Prometheus, or even the Akira Class. In fact, the only known FED ship to use cannons, is the Defiant, and even then, it has a mixture of beams and cannons. "Turrets" are unique to STO, and not even remotely canon to Trek.

hmm what about that destroyer? (that ugly one, dont recall the name of it)

Beams are for cruisers end of the deal . They work fine since they allow you to fight with something else beside your front shield .

Cannons have decent DPS but if you don't have endgame items or you miss a a button you can become dead really fast . Put up some server lag and a 2-3 medium enemies that spawn above you and you'll be dead very very fast .

It is not "mockery" to simply point out that the design intention between any game is entertaining of all players, and that when that does not work, then maybe, possibly, there's something wrong with the game. It is also not "mockery" to say this in a less direct manner.

If I have offended you, I apologize.

"It is not "mockery" to simply point out that the design intention between any game is entertaining of all players"

Therefore, if you do not enjoy the ROLE of a Cruiser Captain, do not fly a cruiser. Some people actually enjoy the role of a cruiser captain, I am personally not one of them, therefore, I fly escorts and science ships.

Less power drain equals more damage. I really believe all beams need is an overhaul/fix to the way weapon drain works. When used in conjunction with Nadion Inversion (turns off drain), beam arrays do quite respectable damage if you can get a bunch of them on target. Maybe, maybe, they could use a reduction in damage falloff rate in acknowledgement of the fact that most ships which would want to use them have really poor agility. Which would again equate to more damage on average.

Quote:

Originally Posted by apocalypsespace

Beams are for cruisers end of the deal . They work fine since they allow you to fight with something else beside your front shield

Uh. What. A beam array broadside cruiser will always want their side shield to the enemy, which means the same shield facing is always taking damage. These ships are not agile enough to choose where to get hit.